The old flats at Karimadam colony where a part of the lintel of one of the buildings came crashing down on Sunday had been classified as dangerous for habitation and immediate rehabilitation of the residents recommended by an expert team appointed by the City Corporation way back in 2012. But lack of follow-up action from the government’s side meant that the report gathered dust until the accident. It was in December 2012 that the expert team from the College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET) conducted a study on the six flats, consisting of 72 housing units.
“We asked them to study the stability of the existing structures and recommend the kind of maintenance required for it. The buildings were built way back in 1981 by the Kerala State Housing Board. The expert team said all the structures were in a precarious condition and no maintenance could be done on those. They had recommended for all the buildings to be rebuilt,” says Palayam Rajan, chairman of the Welfare Standing Committee of the city Corporation.
The recommendations were passed by the Corporation Council on February 28, 2013 and forwarded to the State government. But action is yet to be taken.
“The study was conducted at a cost of around Rs.37,000, paid by the local body. No use has come out of it though,” says P.S. Nair, councillor of the Manacaud ward.
“The biggest challenge is in finding a place to rehabilitate these people. We have limited resources to take up this task and government support is essential,” Mr. Rajan says.
District Collector Biju Prabhakar, who visited the flats on Monday, said he would submit a report to the government on Wednesday.
